At first, it might seem a bit incongruous – a Swedish clothing and home design company dedicated to the flinty flavor of New England. But not to Kristina Lindhe, creative and managing director of the Lexington Clothing Co.
“I like New England so much,” Lindhe says with a warm laugh that translates over the phone from Sweden. “I like the architecture, the houses. I like everything about New England. When I started, there were companies for clothing but no one for interior design. I saw a gap in the market and decided to do something in this style.”
The result is a 16-year-old company with American stores in Greenwich and the Hamptons with fashion and home design offerings that capture the spirit of Lexington and Concord. They’re crisp, classic, nautical, folklike, durable and above all, lucent.
“The Nordic light is very special in the summertime,” Lindhe says. It reminds her of the light in New England, which inspired artists like Nyack’s Edward Hopper, who caught the way it sliced through porches and lighthouses from Massachusetts to Maine.
Light fills the Superior Collection of striped and solid bedding and bath towels that should keep you cozy in the New England chill.
“My thoughts were about quality,” Lindhe says. “What was the optimal quality? How do we do the best experience?”
She turned to poplin cotton made in Italy to create blue-and-white striped and beige-and-white striped bedding – highly unusual for this fabric, she says – along with signature white bedding framed in either navy or beige. There are goose-down comforters in blue or beige, sumptuous navy velvet bedspreads, luxurious cashmere throws and shams in white or beige and white towels with navy borders. Superior indeed.
For those who like their New England nights to be more informal, there’s the fall collection, with checked, striped and paisley bedding in sateen, poplin and flannel. And while there are throw pillows with variations of the Stars and Stripes, you’ll also notice red subtly threading the paisley and checked items. It’s Lindhe’s salute to the Harvard Crimson and the red she saw everywhere when she visited Harvard Square in Cambridge, Mass.
But red is also big for fall. It’s the new black.
Lexington’s fall collection also conveys another big trend, echoed by Tiffany’s Beyond the Blue Collection:
“You want to keep that summer feel into fall,” Lindhe says, “before it gets too cold and you have to make a change.”
Prices in the fall collection range from $35 for a throw pillow to $325 for a king-size duvet cover. Prices in the Superior Collection range from $150 for a pair of standard pillow cases to $2,495 for a down comforter. For more, visit Lexington Clothing Co., 73 Greenwich Ave., (203) 489-3355 or lexingtoncompany.com.
